Cedar Park Church Of Christ


   

Bible Class Studies

THE COVENANT WITH ISRAEL --
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COVENANT AND THE LAW

ANALYSIS OF "COVENANT"

  1. Note tract "Testament or Covenant" (JRE) which contains definitions of word.
  2. Note Thayer, pp. 136,137 -- "A disposition, arrangement, of any sort, which one wishes to be valid...a compact, covenant...the ark of the covenant or law, in which those tables were deposited, Heb. 9:4...we find in the N.T. two distinct covenants spoken of (Gal. 4:24), viz. the Mosaic and the Christian...This covenant Christ set up and ratified by undergoing death (Heb. 10:29); my blood by the shedding of which the covenant is established (Mt. 26:28)...By metonymy of the contained for the container is used in 2 Co. 3:14 of the sacred books of the O.T. because in them the conditions and principles of the older covenant were recorded ." (Actually, Christ's blood dedicated a covenant that is contrasted with Moses' law -- Heb. 10:28, 29, He was not just a "covenant victim" (that is, a sacrifice for sin).

WHILE THE WORD "COVENANT" IS DEFINED AS ABOVE, A COVENANT MAY TAKE DIFFERENT FORMS:

  1. IT MAY TAKE THE FORM OF PROMISE:
    1. Gen. 9:11-15 -- this covenant was a promise not to destroy the world by water again
    2. Gen. 15:18 -- this covenant was a promise to Abram about the land
    3. Ex. 6:4, 5 -- this covenant was a promise to Israel to give them the land (cf. Lev. 26:42; Judges 2:1,2).
    4. Gen. 17:2-4 -- a promise to Abraham that his descendants would be multiplied
    5. There were "promises" (plural) to Abraham, not just one promise -- Gen. 12:1-3; Heb. 7:6; Gal. 3:16, 17; Eph. 2:12.
  2. IT MAY TAKE THE FORM OF LAW (instructions, requirements)
    1. The statement that "law is never covenant; laws structure covenants," is contrary both to the definition and use of the word "covenant."
    2. Gen. 17:9-14 -- the covenant of circumcision (part of the law of Moses), Gal. 5:2-4) -- it was both a covenant (law) and a sign of a special relationship, v. 11. Specifically, the covenant God made, that Abraham was to keep, was a "law" -- it was a requirement imposed by Divine will.
    3. Ex. 24:7; 34:27-28 -- the "book of the covenant," the "words of the covenant, the Ten commandments." -- cf. Deut. 4:13; 5:2,3; 9:9, 11, 15.
    4. 1 Kings 8:9, 21 -- the ark of the covenant contained the TEN COMMANDMENTS, not the spiritual promise of salvation.
    5. 2 Kings 23:21; -- the Book of the Covenant (or of the law, 2 Kings 22:8) included teaching about the Passover.
    6. Psa. 78:10 -- the covenant was "His law."
  3. Man can "covenant" (agree, promise, take an oath) that he will perform God's covenant.
    1. 1. Gen. 17:9-14 -- Abraham was to keep God's covenant of circumcision. If he had not been agreeable to keep God's requirement of circumcision, he still would have been amenable to perform what God required and would have sinned if he had not so done.
    2. 2 Kings 23:3, 21 -- Josiah made a covenant (promise, took an oath) to keep God's covenant; however, the covenant Josiah was under had been in effect for many years and Israel had frequently violated it. They were accountable to keep God's covenant and His laws applied to them, though they had sought to throw off the restrictions of God's rules. -- cf. 2 Chron. 34:31.
    3. Ezra 10:3 --Shechaniah said, "Let us make a covenant" to put away foreign wives "according to the law" (cf. Deut. 7:3). The law expressed God's rules made in His covenant with Israel. Those laws applied even when they were rejected -- the covenant was just as much in effect, though they had so flagrantly violated it. Now they are willing to abide by God's laws and promise or take an oath that they will do as the covenant requires.
    4. Jer. 11:6-10 -- Men are to "hear the words of this covenant and do them." Israel had "broken My covenant," God said. The covenant which was broken was obviously God's instructions, not His promises. Israel was still a part of God's covenant; that is, they were accountable to its laws, even when they were violating it.

SUMMATION OF "COVENANT"

From my understanding of the words from which we get our English word "covenant" there is always the idea of the disposition of the will of a superior. That disposition may take the form of a promise provided for man in which God conveys His will and decisions without anything required as a response on man's part. It may also take the form of a promise which has conditions for man to accept or reject. Now, in recognizing and admitting that a covenant which takes the form of a promise has "conditions" one necessarily admits to "law" being a part of that covenant, for required conditions must necessarily equate to decrees to be obeyed.

It is a quibble to say that "law is not the covenant but structures the covenant" -- it seems to me that that statement wishes to avoid any necessary requirements of a covenant. It also seeks to see the covenant as an agreement or promise so as to make the agreement or promise one thing and law that is a part of it another thing. But even considering "covenant" as an "agreement," how can two people have an agreement unless there is some revelation of their dispositions about that upon which they wish to agree? Even in an agreement, when each, or both, has expressed his will and their wills are harmonious, they may therefrom agree upon some form of action. The conditions put into the agreement cannot be separated from the agreement itself -- the conditions form a necessary part of the wills of both. "The Law of Moses"

In the covenants God has made with man, some take the form of a promise without any requirements on man's part -- it is merely the expression of the Divine disposition. This would be true of the covenant in Genesis 9. In the covenant God made with Abraham there was the revelation of the Divine disposition. The promise of "the seed" was unconditional. But in the Old Covenant, God's disposition of mind not only made certain promises of protection, care, help, etc., but also conveyed conditions. This covenant is called "The Law" or the "ten commandments" which stand for the whole of the covenant. I believe it is a serious mistake to say that since some covenants do not have conditions or laws, then no covenant has law as an essential part of the covenant. When conditions are given to the covenant, then it must be thought of in its entirety as involving the conditions. It is a fallacy to make the covenant one thing (like an agreement of the minds or merely the promissory aspect) and the stipulations of the covenant something else just as it would be a fallacy to say that a contract between parties was an agreement and the stipulations of the contract something else.

  1. Define the word "covenant".


  2. What forms may a covenant take?


  3. How could God say that circumcision was a "covenant"?


  4. Explain what Shechaniah meant by his statement, "Let us make a covenant" in putting away foreign wives, "according to the law".


  5. If we recognize that a covenant has conditions, what must we admit?


  6. When an agreement is made between two parties, can you separate the conditions of the agreement from the agreement itself?


  7. In the covenant God made with Noah, were there any God imposed conditions for man to keep?


  8. What form did the covenant about "the seed" God made with Abraham take?


  9. When God made a covenant with Abraham about circumcision, was Abraham obligated to perform what God required in that covenant? Would you say that the stipulation or condition was a part of the covenant?


  10. When God made a covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai, what was necessarily involved in that covenant?





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Created on 11-Dec-99

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